Moscow Times April 29, 2003 Lenin's Entombed Ratings By Boris Kagarlitsky
Traditionally, April is the month that we remember Vladimir Lenin. In Soviet times, however, April was not so much the month of Lenin's birthday as it was the time of the communist subbotnik. For those who never lived in the Soviet Union, let me explain: At the height of the Civil War, a group of revolutionary workers went to work on their day off and mended a few steam-engines for free. Lenin, in an article, called it an act of "great initiative" and, while he was about it (in the same article), he expounded his interpretation of Karl Marx's sociological theory.
After Lenin's death, his thoughts were immortalized in Soviet philosophy textbooks. As for working unpaid on Saturdays, that was soon forgotten when Stalin introduced labor camps, which provided the country with free labor all the year round.
After Stalin's death, life became less brutal and the surviving victims of political repression were allowed to return home. However, people started to notice that with the departure of Stalin's totalitarian regime, communal services ceased to function properly. Under Stalin, courtyard-sweepers spied on residents, but at least they cleaned as well.
Suddenly the Soviet authorities remembered the "great initiative." And here you have to acknowledge that the Bolshevik leader's birthday was well-timed: After the snow melts, the city's streets are covered in filth. In short, the city needs a good spring-cleaning. It is instructive that although Lenin's birthday has not been properly celebrated for years, the subbotniki, which were tied to his birthday, have survived. Democratic reforms killed off what was left of our communal services. And so, once a year we have to do battle with garbage and filth. Of course, these days the whole activity has become decentralized -- different neighborhoods and organizations conduct subbotniki at different times, and some not at all.
But what is Lenin's name associated with today besides cleaning the streets and putting out the trash? According to a survey conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation, the name still means a great deal to the majority of us. Sixty-three percent of Russians still remember his date of birth (51 percent among the younger generation).
Mention of Lenin's name evokes positive emotions among 16 percent of those polled ("something bright," "memories of youth," etc.). Fourteen percent associate the name with revolution, uprising and strikes; while 11 percent are reminded of the Communist Party, the Komsomol and pioneers' red neck ties. Nine percent are reminded of "free education and health care" and "the good life." And the same number are reminded of Soviet-era slogans ("All Power to the Soviets," etc.).
Only 5 percent of the population has negative associations, such as poverty, hunger and lines. This is incredible considering that for the past decade, many newspapers -- and in particular, the main TV channels -- have been telling us regularly what an evil man the Bolshevik leader was. Comparing the poll with those from five years ago, one thing is clear: Despite the negative campaign (or perhaps because of it), Lenin's rating has been on the rise. This goes for evaluations of the Soviet past as well.
However, it would be naive to conclude from this that Russians are in a hurry to return to the Soviet Union. In fact, more likely the opposite is true: The Soviet Union has irretrievably entered the annals of history, and for this reason people are increasingly able to make an unbiased assessment of the experience. In this situation, full-frontal assaults on Bolshevism lose their effectiveness.
Throughout the 1990s, Soviet history was portrayed as one huge nightmare. However, neo-liberal culture has proved incapable of creating its own role models. Soviet history was a tragedy but not a catastrophe, and that is why it continues to be appealing. Again and again we return to our Soviet past: Film tastes were formed on a diet of Soviet films; Soviet children's books gave us our penchant for reading.
However, we should not overestimate the depth of people's historical awareness. Only 5 percent of respondents associate Lenin's name with the history of the country and the social changes it underwent. Ultimately, the poll only captured the emotions and associations evoked by Lenin's name, not people's opinion of him.
Public opinion in Russia is still at a formative stage. If as a society we were able consistently to formulate a clear position and defend it, then we would be living in a very different country today.
Boris Kagarlitsky is director of the Institute of Globalization Studies.